Date of publication: Mar 30, 2022 • 1 hour ago • 4 minutes reading • 12 comments A Calgary police officer wears a “thin blue line” patch above his name tag on this photo file. Photo by Brendan Miller / Postmedia
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An order to remove the thin blue lines worn by Calgary Police officers amid concerns that they are racistly divisive will be resisted, their union leader said on Wednesday.
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The oath came minutes after the Calgary Police Commission issued a public statement saying that for the sake of racial harmony, officers should drop the emblem from their uniforms by the end of March. “People in our community have made it clear that the blue line on police officers makes them feel uncomfortable because of the history and current use of it by anti-equality groups,” said committee chairman Shawn Cornett in a statement. “As policing evolves, so must its symbols. “Stopping the use of a symbol that undermines the confidence of some Calgary residents in the police is the right thing to do.” The committee said the patch, which consists of a Canadian flag crossed by a horizontal blue line, is seen by police and many in the community as a symbol of respect for fallen officers and solidarity in the ranks.
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And while a year-long consultation process heard just that, it also revealed concerns about the patch acting as a symbol of reaction against the racial equality movement. Critics of the emblem say that was especially true after the assassination of George Floyd in May 2020 by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. “Support for the positive things represented by the blue line was unanimous, with some participants expressing concern about the impact of the symbol’s alternative meanings on the community,” the committee said. But the head of the Calgary Police Association, which represents members in uniform, said he encouraged officers to continue wearing the patch, calling the commission’s decision wrong.
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“There will be resistance to the removal of this patch, it is an important symbol. . . “There is very strong support for this symbol,” said union president John Orr. He said Calgary officers wore the patch before the Black Lives Matter movement was galvanized by Floyd’s assassination and that its meaning for its members was a nod to the dead and support for each other was profound. And he said the removal order is particularly sensitive given the recent assassination of the Sergeant. Andrew Harnett on New Year’s Eve 2020. “The situation is bad. “We are still monitoring the proceedings regarding the murder of one of our own,” said Or. It also comes after a survey of workers published last November found that morale among police officers is the lowest in a decade, with just 19 per cent of respondents saying the feeling is good, up from 36 per cent in 2020.
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“I do not think this directive will help morale in any way,” he said. John Orr, President of the Calgary Police Association. Photo from the Postmedia archive Although he described the commission’s decision as binding, Orr said he expected many officers to continue wearing the patch and that it would be up to Chief Mark Neufeld to determine the consequences. In a statement Wednesday, Neufeld said he was absolutely certain that the patch had been worn only with the best of intentions by his officers, but that external concerns should be taken into account. “We are committed to listening to and reinforcing racist voices, and while we are committed to this, I also acknowledge how frustrating this decision will be for many of our officers. “For them, as well as for me, this symbol is very important and personal,” Neufeld said. The police committee said it had called on the Calgary Police Association and the Senior Officers Association to help design a spare patch, although it noted that no union had agreed to join.
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“The officers in our town have an incredibly difficult job and we owe them a debt of gratitude,” Cornett said. “We hope we can work with the officers and their families to create a suitable replacement. . . so as not to lose the positives it represents “. But Orr said the negative perceptions of the police among some members of the police commission, which he declined to name, make that prospect dim. “We do not believe that a redesign in conjunction with the CPA can occur at this time without completely losing the meaning of the patch,” he said. “There is not enough trust in this relationship.” In a summary of the patch’s history, the commission said it dates back to the Crimean War of the 1850s and has noble roots suggesting mutual support, but that it has also been equated with retroactive police behavior during the racial riots in the 1960s. and the aftermath of Floyd Assassination.
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“Even when the policemen wearing the patch do not make sense to support racist views, the connection to recent events and the visually divisive image of the symbol has an impact on people of color and others who are not sure which of the many different meanings a police officer is trying. to express itself, “the commission said. Given these conflicting perceptions, the committee’s decision was clearly the right one, said Ward 8. Counney’s Courtney Walcott, who sits on the body. “Removing symbols rooted in colonialism, chosen by extremists who oppose the city’s own anti-racism commitment to the CPS, was an easy decision that was long overdue,” he said. Orr acknowledged that the emblem had been adopted by some far-right extremists, but added, “These people do not share our values.” – With files by Stephanie Babych [email protected] Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn
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